Steinheil (crater)


Steinheil is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged highlands in the southeastern part of the Moon. It was named after German astronomer and physicist Carl August von Steinheil. It forms a prominent crater pair with the similar-sized Watt, which it partly overlies to the southeast. To the northwest is the large walled plain Janssen. Due to the location of this crater, it appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. It is from the Nectarian period, 3.92 to 3.85 billion years ago.
This is a relatively circular crater that has undergone some light erosion from subsequent impacts. The inner wall is wider along the southwestern rim than elsewhere, and there is a slight outward bulge in the western rim. There are a few tiny craterlets along the rim and inner wall, the most notable being a crater at the base of the inner northeast rim. The interior floor is level, with no central peak and only a few minor craterlets.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Steinheil.
SteinheilLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
E44.9° S47.6° E16 km
F45.3° S48.4° E21 km
G45.6° S49.9° E19 km
H45.7° S46.9° E20 km
K48.6° S51.9° E5 km
X47.6° S45.8° E17 km
Y47.3° S45.1° E16 km
Z46.4° S45.4° E23 km